Summerscale was brought up in Japan, England and Chile. After attending Bedales School (1978–1983), she took a double-first at Oxford University and an Master of Arts in journalism from Stanford University. 1997 Whitbread Award (for biography), shortlist, The Queen of Whale Cay.
1997 Whitbread Award (for biography), shortlist, The Queen of Whale Cay 1998 Somerset Maugham Award, winner, The Queen of Whale Cay 2008 Samuel Johnson Prize, winner, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House 2009 Anthony Awards (Best Critical / Non-fiction Work), shortlist, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House 2010 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
